Saturday, February 18, 2006

Sleeves down, Yoke to go

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Bamboo-zo

You are bamboo.Warm, cozy, and thoughtful, you take your time andenjoy how things feel, smell, and taste. Youlove the craft and beauty of traditionalthings, and you value the comfort andexperience of knitting as much as the results.But while you are reveling in your warm cozies,don't get stuck. Warm is wonderful, but so isthe whole wide world!

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Beginner's Knitting

Here's a little something I wrote in my Knitting Community in NUS's IVLE (before I found out people can't just search for these communities and joined -___-):

1. Get someone to show you how the basic stitches of cast on, knit, purl and cast off are done. You''ll be well on your way to mastering the rest of the techniques as these form the basis of your skill.

2. Start off with some practice. The traditional beginner's project is a scarf. It allows for lots of practice and there is fewer things that can go wrong with knitting a rectangular piece of knitwear ^_^;; If scarves aren't to your liking, there are variations on the theme, eg. handphone pouches, handkerchief, etc.

3. You will make mistakes. Find out why. The learning curve isn't steep but to master knitting will take time. Every knit is a learning process. =D

4. Free patterns online are your best friend. I''ll admit that if you're learning on your own, you''ll want to get a good book that you can refer to (I'd recommend "Stitch 'n Bitch"... others in my knitting community would say Zimmerman's "Knitting Without Tears" is good too).

5. Find a community. Like here! It's great to find support, especially when you're a beginner. And you can pick up skills from other members. Knitting woes can be expressed as they can't be anywhere else. And anyway, who doesn't want a place to show-off to an appreciative audience? ;)

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Bad news on the cardigan knitting front: Spotlight no longer has any more Inca yarn! Now, I'm thinking I'll have to use another yarn for the sleeves and top half of the cardigan. I suppose that would still be okay....................... T_T It'll still look like something (instead of the makeshift work it is). Now I just have to raise the money to buy the yarn... ^_^;;;;

Cushiony cover: Planning on one, probably would try stripes. Going to make it real colourful... ^_^ (Btw, the new cushion I got was from Ikea. It's nice to live a few bus stops away from that addictive place.)

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Knitting Books Reference

The sequel to Stitch 'n Bitch. Lots of projects to try out. Tips on making stuff (calculating, changing dimensions and so on). She's gathered much info from S'nB-ers from all over and made it into this book ^_^. Thanks Lois for getting this book! $13.50 + $2.70 (shared shipping)

[22/3/2005] - Since I'll want to keep track of all the books that I've come across and/or used, I shall leave this post for me to put down book info. Will update in the same post. Considering whether to change the date of post so that it's in one of the empty months. Here, in alphabetical order:

How could I not get this photocopied. I had to have it on hand when I was more experienced at this knitting business since I'd really like to knit my own teddy bear! Copied and bound. Borrowed from the library.

Beautiful book to read. Read reviews that it's actually not meant for beginners. Photocopied the instructions for Cache-Coeur Bergamo. Has since set aside this work to gain more experience on other knitting. Filed in my knitting file. Borrowed book from library.

Very chic, stylish designs. Supposedly easy though at that point, I was a very very new beginner. Didn't start on any projects from there. Photocopied projects for Open-work cardigan, Fringed Scarf & Coat, Hooded Poncho and Ballet Neck Tunic. Filed in knitting folder. Borrowed from the library.

Ahhh... my favourite purchase at this point of time. Teaches the basics of knitting and more! Several (easy) projects, one of which I have completed. Will hence be known as S'nB for short. Bought from Kinokuniya. $29.35 - 10%.

Beautiful things to pull over your shoulders. Patterns look great. Had to photocopy the whole thing. Cost me more than the usual job but worth having this around, aye? Copied and bound. Borrowed from the library.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

My SMU Teddy Sweater

Kawaii neh? This is a double-moss knit sweater I made for my SMU bear. Yay..!

It's simple, a double-moss stitch pattern (a bit of ribbing after the collar for decorative purposes while the head hole's made the way you do a buttonhole. A 't' piece of cloth comes out of it, with a slit big enough to fit your bear in, in the middle.

Materials

-Less than a roll of Paton's Caressa (8ply) wool; COL: 4555, LOT: 735671-A pair of 5.1mm (size 10; Clover) needles; However, the gauge on the wrapper said I should have used 4mm needles.-Wool or tapestry needle-A bear

Instructions

[Notes: Increase or decrease dimensions as you see fit to size your bear. The sweater turned out to be for a big bear. That's why my medium-sized SMU bear looks so fat in it, hahah... Back length (neck to hem): 11cm, sleeves (from armpit): 7.5cm, neck: 21cm]